Hong Kong and Disneyland

As Disney tried to expand their empire further into Asia, they were not at all as successful as they had originally expected. With the success of Tokyo Disney Resort producers of Hong Kong Disney were projecting the same experiences to happen in Hong Kong. By using the failures found in Disneyland Resort Paris they knew what not to do in order to achieve greater worth of the Disney name abroad.

Though Tokyo and Paris are completely different cultures, the adaptation of each culture was done in two different ways, varying the overall success of both parks. In Tokyo, Disney forfeited their rights and handed it over to the Japanese, which essentially made it easier for the Japanese to take an American owned and operated business and make it into their own. After seeing the success Tokyo had, Disney did not want to surrender their rights a second time when they moved into France. Being seen as one of the largest consumers of Disney products outside of the US, France became an ideal location for what was originally named “Euro Disney.” However, it was not as warmly welcomed as the Disney executives had thought. The resistance of the French government was one of the main problems in achieving success in Paris. This key failure helped in figuring out how to best open a new park in Hong Kong.

The Chinese, overall, were very excited and welcoming of the new Disney Park heading into their country. As the case study pointed out “Chinese needed Disney and Disney needed China.” Both saw the addition of a Disney Park as a way to increase revenue and tourism, and more importantly, Disney saw Hong Kong as the gateway into China. They were able to use the Chinese government as a way to get involved with the community and immerse itself into the culture. At first this all seemed ideal, but as time progressed and the park opened, it sought problems.

Like any new business, things did not go as smoothly as anticipated. During the first year the crisis of the Lunar New Year...